JP2010208899A - Production method of group iii nitride semiconductor single crystal and production method of group iii nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a production method of a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal by which occurrence of cracks in the crystal growth can be decreased and a high-quality group III nitride semiconductor single crystal can be produced at a high speed, and to provide a production method of a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The production method includes: a seed substrate preparation step S10 of preparing a seed substrate comprising a group III nitride semiconductor and having a crystal growth face having a single index plane; and a crystal growth step S20 of epitaxially growing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal on the crystal growth face. In the crystal growth step, the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal is grown by enclosing with a plurality of crystal surfaces comprising spontaneously formed low index planes, and the low index planes are controlled to have plane indices, representing the crystal planes, each equal to or less than 3. Thus, a high-quality GaN ingot is obtained, in which occurrence of fine cracks are suppressed in the crystal growth. Subsequently, a wafer of the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal is produced by cutting and slicing the GaN ingot in a cutting step S30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal and a method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for producing a high-quality group III nitride semiconductor single crystal and a method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate.

  Conventionally, a method of manufacturing a plurality of GaN substrates by high-speed growth of gallium nitride (GaN), growing a large number of GaN substrates, or a plurality of GaN substrates by growing a thick bulk ingot and cutting the grown bulk ingot A method of cutting out (hereinafter referred to as “bulk method”) has been studied. The bulk method is a method expected in that a substrate having a C plane and other crystal planes other than the C plane can be manufactured.

  Further, as a GaN manufacturing method using a seed crystal including a plurality of planes, that is, a C plane and other planes other than the C plane, the surface of the seed crystal has at least a C plane, A method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor crystal using a seed crystal whose directly adjacent surface is neither an M-plane nor an A-plane is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  According to the method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor crystal described in Patent Document 1, the seed crystal is ground using a file or the like so that the surface directly adjacent to the C plane is not the M plane or the A plane. Polycrystalline adhesion to the boundary between the surface and the other surface can be avoided.

  Further, at a relatively slow crystal growth rate of about 100 μm / h, a GaN ingot having a thickness of about 5.8 mm, a diameter of 2 inches, and no cracks is formed by using a hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) method. It is known that it can be created (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-314357 A

S. Kubo et al. “Bulk GaN crystals grown by HVPE”, 2nd International Symposium on Growth of III-Nitrides (2008) Publication number: I-Tu-5

  However, in the method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor crystal described in Patent Document 1, even if a ground seed crystal is used, it is impossible to avoid the attachment of polycrystals at the boundary between the C plane and the other plane in the first growth. In addition, in GaN, which is difficult to polish, it is difficult to grind the seed crystal using a file or the like while changing the grinding conditions so that the surface directly adjacent to the C surface is neither the M surface nor the A surface. At the same time, mechanical damage may remain in the seed crystal due to grinding. And since it is required to repeat grinding and crystal growth using the seed crystal after grinding, the manufacturing cost cannot be reduced.

  Further, in the technique described in Non-Patent Document 1, when crystal growth is performed at a crystal growth rate higher than 100 μm / h, fine cracks are generated in the GaN ingot obtained by the growth, resulting in In some cases, the surface of the GaN ingot is roughened.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the occurrence of cracks in crystal growth and to produce a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal capable of producing a high-quality group III nitride semiconductor single crystal at high speed, and group III An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate.

  (1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a seed substrate preparation step of preparing a seed substrate made of a group III nitride semiconductor and having a single index plane crystal growth surface, and III on the crystal growth surface. A crystal growth step of epitaxially growing a group nitride semiconductor single crystal, the crystal growth step being a step of growing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal while being surrounded by a plurality of spontaneously formed low index surfaces The low index plane is provided with a method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal in which each plane index representing a crystal plane is 3 or less.

  (2) Further, in the above method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal, the group III nitride semiconductor is a hexagonal nitride semiconductor, and the low index plane has an index plane of {hklm} (however, h , K, l and m are all integers), it is preferable that the absolute values of h, k, l and m are all 3 or less.

  (3) Further, in the above method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal, it is preferable that the plurality of crystal surfaces do not include a high index plane in which any one of the individual plane indices representing the crystal surface is 4 or more.

  (4) In the method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal, the crystal growth step may epitaxially grow a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal having a maximum outer diameter of 15 mm or more.

  (5) In the method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal, the crystal growth step may epitaxially grow the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal by 5 mm or more along the crystal growth direction.

  (6) In the method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal, in the crystal growth step, the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal may be epitaxially grown at a crystal growth rate of 300 μm / h or more.

  (7) In the method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal, the seed substrate preparation step may form a seed substrate having sides parallel to the low index plane by cleaving the outer periphery of the seed substrate.

  (8) In the method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal, in the seed substrate preparation step, the crystal growth surface may be limited to a part of the surface of the seed substrate by providing a mask on the seed substrate. Good.

  (9) Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a group III nitride semiconductor single unit manufactured by the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal manufacturing method according to any one of the above (1) to (8). A method of manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate is provided in which a crystal is cut along a plane perpendicular to the crystal growth direction to obtain a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate.

  (10) Moreover, the manufacturing method of the said group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate may have square shape or hexagonal shape.

  According to the method for producing a nitride semiconductor single crystal according to the present invention, generation of cracks in crystal growth can be reduced, and a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal capable of producing a high-quality group III nitride semiconductor single crystal at high speed can be achieved. A method for producing a crystal and a method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the flow of the manufacturing method of the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the thickness which a crack begins to produce in the ingot which carries out crystal growth on a seed substrate, and the diameter of a seed substrate. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the diameter of an ingot, and an effective area ratio. It is a figure which shows the relationship between epi thickness and the dislocation density at the time of carrying out homoepitaxial growth of GaN on the seed substrate of dislocation density 3 * 10 ^{< 6} > cm ^<-2 >. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on Example 4 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on Example 4 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the flow of manufacture of the group III nitride semiconductor substrate which concerns on a comparative example.

(Method for producing group III nitride semiconductor single crystal)
FIG. 1A shows an example of the flow of a method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(Seed Substrate Preparation Step: Step 10. Hereinafter, the step is referred to as “S”)
First, a seed substrate made of a group III nitride semiconductor is prepared. The seed substrate according to the present embodiment is a substrate having a substantially single index plane crystal growth surface. For example, when a group III nitride semiconductor is epitaxially grown on the seed substrate along the C-axis direction, a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate having a C plane is used as the seed substrate. In this embodiment, GaN, which is a hexagonal nitride semiconductor, will be described as an example of the group III nitride semiconductor.

  More specifically, in the present embodiment, for example, a circular GaN substrate is first prepared, and the outer periphery of the GaN substrate is cleaved to produce a seed substrate having a cleaved surface on the side surface. That is, by cleaving the outer periphery of the GaN substrate, the seed substrate has a crystal growth surface with a low index surface, and the outer periphery of the crystal growth surface has a side parallel to the low index surface. The surface that is the main surface of the seed substrate becomes a crystal growth surface on which GaN is homoepitaxially grown. The shape of the seed substrate obtained by cleaving the GaN substrate is a polygonal shape in which each side is a side parallel to the low index plane.

  Further, without cleaving the GaN substrate, a mask having an opening having a predetermined shape can be overlaid on the GaN substrate, and the GaN substrate with the mask overlaid can be used as a seed substrate. In this case, the opening of the mask has a shape having at least a side parallel to the low index surface of GaN (excluding the crystal growth surface). Note that, by overlapping a mask having an opening on the GaN substrate, GaN grows in a limited manner on a part of the surface of the GaN substrate. That is, the mask limits the crystal growth surface of the GaN substrate to a part of the surface of the GaN substrate.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the low index plane is an individual plane index representing a crystal plane when the index plane is represented by {hklm} (where h, k, l, and m are integers). That is, it refers to an exponential surface in which the absolute values of Miller indices h, k, l, and m are all 3 or less. For example, the low index plane is C plane, M plane, A plane, {10-1x} plane (where x = 1, 2, or 3), {11-2y} plane (where y = 1, 2, Or 3) etc.

  Furthermore, as the seed substrate, a GaN substrate obtained by cutting or slicing the GaN ingot manufactured in the present embodiment can also be used. In this case, as will be described later, the GaN ingot manufactured in the present embodiment exhibits a polyhedral shape having a low index surface formed spontaneously by crystal growth. A GaN substrate can be obtained by cutting or slicing such a polyhedral GaN ingot. The obtained GaN substrate can be used as a seed substrate for subsequent crystal growth. In this case, the GaN substrate can also be cleaved or used as a seed substrate by overlaying a mask. When the seed substrate has a circular shape, the diameter is preferably 15 mm or more. When the seed substrate has a polygonal shape, the diameter of the circumscribed circle is preferably 15 mm or more.

(Crystal growth process: S20)
Next, only the main surface of the seed substrate, that is, the crystal growth surface which is the low index surface of the seed substrate is exposed, and a GaN single crystal is homoepitaxially grown on the crystal growth surface. For crystal growth, for example, a hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) method can be used. By the HVPE method, a GaN ingot surrounded by a low index surface that is spontaneously formed by crystal growth is formed on the crystal growth surface of the seed substrate. That is, by growing a crystal using a specific seed substrate as described above, growth of a GaN ingot having an index plane including a mirror index of 4 or more can be suppressed on the seed substrate. It becomes a GaN ingot surrounded by an exponential surface.

  Here, the maximum outer diameter of the GaN ingot to be formed is preferably 15 mm or more, more preferably 25 mm or more, and further preferably 50 mm or more. The length of the GaN ingot, that is, the thickness of the single crystal in the crystal growth direction on the crystal growth surface is preferably 5 mm or more, more preferably 10 mm or more, and further preferably 20 mm or more. In the present embodiment, the crystal growth rate of crystal growth is preferably 300 μm / h or more, more preferably 500 μm / h or more, and still more preferably 1000 μm / h or more.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the seed substrate is devised and the crystal growth direction is the C-axis direction, the side surface portion of the GaN ingot (that is, the normal line is different from the crystal growth direction). The {10-1x} plane (where x = 0, 1, 2, 3) or {11-2y} plane (where y = 0, 1, 2, 3) is formed on the facing surface. be able to. Further, in the present embodiment, when the seed substrate is devised and the crystal growth direction is the M-axis direction, the {0001} plane or {10-1x} plane ( However, x = 0, 1, 2, 3) and the A plane can also be formed. In the present embodiment, when the seed substrate is devised and the crystal growth direction is the A-axis direction, the {0001} plane or {11-2y} plane ( However, it is also possible to form y = 0, 1, 2, 3) or an M plane.

  The GaN ingot thus obtained is a high-quality GaN ingot in which generation of fine cracks during crystal growth is suppressed.

(Cutting step: S30)
Then, by cutting and slicing the GaN ingot obtained after the crystal growth step, a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal wafer (that is, a substrate) can be manufactured. For example, a hexagonal or square substrate can be obtained by slicing a GaN ingot in a plane perpendicular to the crystal growth direction. Note that the form of the substrate can be adjusted by cleaving the outer periphery of the substrate. The substrate obtained by slicing the GaN ingot preferably has an area of the main surface of the substrate of 1 cm ² or more, and more preferably 20 cm ² or more.

  The group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate according to the present embodiment thus obtained is obtained by cutting a high-quality GaN ingot, so that it becomes a high-quality GaN substrate.

(Knowledge obtained by the inventor)
It is to be noted that a high-quality group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate can be obtained by forming a GaN ingot surrounded by a low index surface as described above based on the following knowledge obtained by the inventors Is.

(Knowledge 1: Appearance of habit face)
In general, since a substrate for device epitaxial growth of a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode (Laser Diode: LD) is often circular or rectangular, the growth of an ingot is also circular. Alternatively, a rectangular seed substrate is used. However, as the thickness of the grown crystal increases with the progress of crystal growth, a specific crystal plane gradually develops on the side surface of the grown crystal. This crystal plane is called the “crystal habit plane”.

  Specifically, what index plane develops as a crystal habit plane varies depending on the symmetry of the crystal structure of the crystal to grow and the growth conditions. For example, when a crystal is grown along the C-axis direction on the crystal growth surface using a hexagonal GaN circular substrate (with the crystal growth surface being the C plane) as a seed substrate under predetermined conditions, Flat {10-11} planes at equal intervals begin to develop at six locations on the outer periphery of the substrate that was previously circular. When the crystal growth is further continued, only six {10-11} planes are formed on the side surface of the crystal. Thereafter, when crystal growth is further continued, a {10-10} straight body portion may be formed under the {10-11} plane. That is, in this case, a hexagonal single crystal is formed. This is because the crystal has the most stable shape in terms of energy determined by its crystal structure and growth conditions, and it is formed by crystal growth even if a seed crystal having a shape different from the cross-sectional shape of the shape is used. The present inventor has obtained the knowledge that the grown crystal has a stable shape.

(Knowledge 2: Crack appearance position)
Here, in the ingot described in “Knowledge 1”, there are energetically unstable high index surfaces between the {10-11} planes, which are six energetically stable low index surfaces, Fine cracks occurred in the vicinity of the high index surface. This indicates that the fine cracks generated in the ingot obtained by crystal growth do not occur uniformly around the entire circumference of the ingot, but occur near the side surface of the ingot.

  That is, it is shown that the occurrence of fine cracks is closely related to the presence of high index surfaces that are energetically unstable around the ingot. Although the detailed mechanism of the occurrence of microcracks is not obvious at this stage, an ingot surrounded by a low index surface, which is an energetically stable shape under the crystal growth conditions of the crystal growth, has grown from the initial stage of crystal growth. The present inventor has obtained the knowledge that the generation of fine cracks can be suppressed if crystal growth is carried out under such conditions.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, in the hexagonal GaN, the low index plane is {0001} plane (that is, C plane), {10-10} plane (that is, M plane), {11-20} Plane (that is, plane A), {10-1x} plane (where x = 1, 2, 3), {11-2y} plane (where y = 1, 2, 3), and the like. When the present inventor examined various index surfaces, in the case of an ingot having an index surface where x and y are 4 or more, cracks tend to be generated in the vicinity of an index surface including a Miller index where x and y are 4 or more. I got some knowledge.

  As a condition for growing an ingot surrounded by a low index surface that is an energetically stable shape, the following method can be specifically adopted. That is, when growing a GaN ingot having a C-plane as a main surface as an ingot for crystal growth, there is a method of using a hexagonal seed substrate surrounded by any one of the low index surfaces described above. Or, a seed crystal having a major surface with a diameter larger than the diameter of the GaN ingot to be grown is overlaid with a mask having a window having a shape in which four corners of a hexagon or rectangle smaller than the major surface are cut off obliquely. There is a method of performing epitaxial growth in a state.

  For example, using a mask having a minute hexagonal opening (for example, an opening having a diameter on the order of μm), GaN surrounded by a low index plane (that is, a crystal surrounded by a facet plane) is micronized. When formed at the level, a crystal surrounded by a low index plane (for example, a hexagonal pyramid shape) is naturally formed regardless of the opening shape. This is very different from the case of forming a large ingot as in this embodiment, and the shape of the formed crystal is governed by the crystal structure, growth conditions, and the like.

  In more detail, it is as follows. First, if the crystals have the same volume, they try to take a form with as little surface energy as possible. That is, in crystal growth, it is advantageous for a crystal to be surrounded by a low index surface having a surface energy smaller than that of a high index surface. Therefore, for example, when crystal growth of GaN in the c-axis direction, even if a mask having a circular opening with a size on the order of μm is overlapped on the seed substrate and crystal growth is started, the side shape of the crystal to be grown is Becomes a hexahedron. It should be noted that the index plane exposed specifically on the side surface varies depending on the crystal growth conditions. This is because the growth rate of crystal growth is a surface with a relatively low growth rate, and the growth rate of which index surface is smaller than the growth rate of other index surfaces depends on the growth conditions. is there.

For example, when GaN is grown in the c-axis direction, the side surface of the ingot on which the crystal grows under the condition where the V / III ratio is high, the growth temperature is low, or the H ₂ partial pressure is large is There is a tendency to tilt from the normal direction. The reason why stress that causes cracks in micro-level crystal growth does not accumulate in the grown crystal is that the size of the growing crystal is small and the surface area is large compared to the volume of the growing crystal. There are also points to do. That is, since the volume of the crystal is proportional to the cube of its diameter and the surface area is proportional to the square, the smaller the size of the crystal, the greater the proportion of the surface area relative to the volume of the crystal, thus causing cracks. Such stress does not substantially accumulate in the grown crystal. Thereby, in micro level crystal growth, cracks are not substantially generated in the process of crystal growth.

  On the other hand, in the case of a large crystal having a size on the order of mm, the shape of the ingot finally obtained is governed by the growth conditions, but the shape is not formed immediately. For example, when a circular substrate is used as a seed substrate, a crystal that grows as the crystal grows gradually approaches a hexagon. However, even when the crystal growth is continued and a thick crystal is grown, the high index plane does not readily disappear, and thus the cross-sectional shape of the obtained ingot is approximately circular.

  In order to finally surround the side surface of the ingot with the facet surface having a low surface index, it is necessary to grow the crystal to a thickness about the diameter of the seed substrate, depending on the index of the facet surface. For example, when a seed substrate having a diameter of 2 inches is used, an ingot surrounded by a low index plane cannot be obtained unless the crystal is grown to a thickness of about 2 inches. However, the present inventor has found that when crystal growth is continued while a high index surface is present on the side surface of the ingot, cracks are generated in the ingot during the crystal growth. Therefore, the relationship between the diameter of the seed substrate and the thickness at which cracks begin to occur in the ingot that grows crystals on the seed substrate was investigated.

  FIG. 1B shows the relationship between the thickness of the seed substrate and the thickness at which cracks begin to occur in the ingot that grows crystals on the seed substrate.

  When the shape of the seed substrate is circular, for example, when a seed substrate having a diameter of 75 mm is used, fine cracks are generated in the grown crystal when the grown crystal has a thickness of about 2.5 mm. At the thickness at which the crack occurred, although the {10-11} plane had gradually developed at six locations around the crystal, the high index plane remained considerably.

  And as the diameter of the seed substrate was reduced, the thickness at which cracks began to occur increased rapidly. When a seed substrate having a diameter of less than 15 mm was used, cracks did not occur in the investigated thickness range, that is, 20 mm or less. In the case of a seed substrate having a diameter smaller than 15 mm, the high index surface of the ingot side surface substantially disappeared during the crystal growth, and the ingot changed to a hexagonal shape surrounded by a {10-11} plane. .

  On the other hand, as in this embodiment, in order to promote the development of the low index surface, a mask was placed on the seed substrate so that the cross-sectional shape in the cross section parallel to the seed substrate surface of the ingot to be grown becomes a hexagon. In some cases, cracks did not occur at any diameter within the range of thicknesses investigated. That is, it has been found that it is relatively easy to grow an ingot having a diameter smaller than about 15 mm thick without generating cracks, but this is not the case with an ingot having a diameter larger than 15 mm. Therefore, to form a large ingot without generating cracks in the ingot, promote the formation of a low index surface of the ingot and eliminate the high index surface before stress accumulates in the ingot and leads to cracking Was found to be very effective.

(Knowledge 3: Crystal growth rate)
In the present embodiment, a seed substrate having a substantially single index surface is used as the seed substrate. For example, when the crystal is grown in the C-axis direction, a seed substrate having only the C plane is used. In other words, the seed substrate has no other surface except the C surface. In the present embodiment, side facets are spontaneously formed on the side surface of the ingot by applying the above-described device to the seed substrate and then homoepitaxially growing GaN on the seed substrate. This is different from the case where, for example, the ingot is ground to form a facet surface on the side surface of the ingot, the grinding damage does not occur in the ingot. Further, since the facet surface is spontaneously formed, the surface accuracy of the formed facet surface is strictly accurate. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the polycrystal does not adhere to the side surface or the like of the ingot due to crystal growth. Thereby, in this Embodiment, it is not necessary to employ | adopt the process of implementing crystal growth using the ingot which processed after processing an ingot.

  In addition, an ingot having a facet surface formed spontaneously on the side surface can be taken out from the HVPE furnace, and the taken out ingot can be used as a seed crystal for subsequent crystal growth. Even in this case, if the seed crystal is used, a high-quality ingot can be obtained as compared with a case where an ingot having a circular cross section is processed into a polyhedron. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, crystal growth at a high crystal growth rate can be realized. Normally, when the crystal growth rate is increased, that is, when the supersaturation degree of the raw material is increased, the crystal obtained by crystal growth is likely to be polycrystallized. Even when the crystal growth rate is 300 μm / h or more, it was confirmed that polycrystals do not occur abnormally.

(Knowledge 4: About the maximum outer diameter of the ingot)
In the present embodiment, the maximum outer diameter of the ingot obtained by crystal growth is preferably 15 mm or more, more preferably 25 mm or more, and further preferably 50 mm or more. This is because the influence of the outer periphery of the ingot can be reduced as the diameter of the ingot increases. That is, the outer peripheral portion of the grown crystal is likely to be accompanied by disturbance of crystal growth conditions, and the defect density and residual stress are likely to be larger than other portions. Therefore, even if the ingot is surrounded by a low index surface, it is preferable that the ratio of the outer peripheral portion in the entire ingot is small.

  FIG. 1C shows the relationship between the ingot diameter and the effective area ratio.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, it can be seen that when the diameter of the ingot is 15 mm or more, the effective area ratio is 80% or more. That is, since the surface area of the ingot is proportional to the square of the radius and the outer peripheral length is proportional to the radius, the outer peripheral length per unit area decreases in inverse proportion to the radius of the ingot. The width affected by the outer periphery is approximately 0.5 mm or less, although it depends on crystal growth conditions and the like. In this case, the present inventor has found that an effective area ratio greatly exceeding 80% can be obtained by setting the diameter of the ingot to 15 mm or more. However, the effective area ratio refers to the ratio of the high quality region that is not affected by the outer peripheral portion.

(Knowledge 5: About the thickness of the ingot (growth crystal))
In the method for manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to the present embodiment, the thickness of the manufactured single crystal, that is, the ingot in the crystal growth direction is set to 5 mm or more for the purpose of improving crystallinity. It is preferably 10 mm or more, more preferably 20 mm or more. That is, in the method for manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to the present embodiment, polycrystal does not adhere to the ingot during crystal growth, so there is no generation of pits and cracks due to polycrystal adhesion. The crystallinity can be improved monotonously as the thickness is increased.

That is, the crystallinity of the ingot obtained can be greatly improved by continuing the crystal growth until the thickness of the ingot becomes approximately 5 mm or more, although the crystallinity of the ingot may depend on the crystal growth conditions. . For example, the relationship between the growth crystal thickness (hereinafter referred to as “epi thickness”) and the dislocation density when GaN is homoepitaxially grown on a seed substrate having a dislocation density of 3 × 10 ⁶ cm ⁻² is shown.

FIG. 1D shows the relationship between epi thickness and dislocation density when GaN is homoepitaxially grown on a seed substrate having a dislocation density of 3 × 10 ⁶ cm ⁻² .

The dislocation density in the ingot monotonously decreased with increasing epi thickness. For example, by setting the epi thickness to 5 mm or more, the dislocation density can be set to 1 × 10 ⁶ cm ⁻² or less. For optical disc writing applications, the dislocation density is required to be less than 1 × 10 ⁶ cm ⁻² . A plurality of substrates can be obtained by slicing the resulting ingot by setting the epi thickness to 5 mm or more.

(Modification)
The group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to the present embodiment is not limited to GaN of the present embodiment, but a group III nitride semiconductor such as aluminum nitride (AlN), indium gallium nitride (InGaN), or gallium aluminum nitride. A mixed crystal of a group III nitride semiconductor such as (AlGaN) can also be used.

  In addition, the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to the present embodiment is epitaxially grown by the HVPE method, but other crystal growth methods such as a flux method and an ammonothermal method can also be used.

(Effect of embodiment)
According to the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the ingot surrounded by the low index plane is formed on the seed substrate in the ingot growth of the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal. Since the seed substrate is cleaved or the mask is stacked, generation of fine cracks in the obtained ingot can be greatly reduced, and a long ingot having high quality can be obtained. A high-quality group III nitride semiconductor substrate can be obtained by cutting and slicing such an ingot.

  2A and 2B show an outline of the flow of manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor substrate according to Example 1 of the present invention.

  In the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate according to Example 1, a seed substrate is formed by cleaving a predetermined nitride semiconductor substrate, and then the group III nitride semiconductor is homogenized along the C-axis direction of the seed substrate. It was manufactured by slicing an ingot obtained by epitaxial growth.

  Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 2A (a), a circular GaN substrate 10 having a surface 10a which is a crystal growth surface and a back surface 10b opposite to the surface 10a was prepared. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the circular GaN substrate 10 taken along the line AA shown in FIG. 2A. The circular GaN substrate 10 has a diameter of 60 mm and a thickness of 0.5 mm, and the surface 10a is a C plane. Next, the outer periphery of the circular GaN substrate 10 was cleaved at the M plane. Thus, a hexagonal GaN substrate 12 as a seed substrate as shown in FIG. 2A (c) was prepared.

  The hexagonal GaN substrate 12 had a regular hexagonal shape with a diameter of 60 mm surrounded by a side surface 12c which is an M plane. 2D is a cross-sectional view of the hexagonal GaN substrate 12 taken along the line BB shown in FIG. 2C. Although the hexagonal GaN substrate 12 is surrounded by the front surface 12a, the rear surface 12b, and the plurality of side surfaces 12c, which are C-planes, only the front surface 12a, which is the C-plane, is the crystal growth surface.

Next, the hexagonal GaN substrate 12 was placed in an HVPE furnace, and GaN was homoepitaxially grown on the surface 12 a of the hexagonal GaN substrate 12. Gallium chloride (GaCl) and ammonia (NH ₃ ) were used as raw materials for homoepitaxial growth, and nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas was used as a carrier gas. Further, the homoepitaxial growth was carried out at a substantially normal pressure, the partial pressure of GaCl was set to 1.7 kPa, and the partial pressure of NH ₃ was set to 10 kPa. Furthermore, hydrogen (H ₂ ) with a partial pressure of 20 kPa was also added. The growth temperature for homoepitaxial growth was set to 1050 ° C.

  The growth rate of homoepitaxial growth under the above conditions was 400 μm / h. Under the above conditions, homoepitaxial growth of GaN on the hexagonal GaN substrate 12 was performed for 24 hours. As a result, a GaN ingot 14 as shown in FIG. 2B (a) was obtained. The ingot 14 had a thickness of about 9.4 mm and a diameter of about 60 mm.

  2B is a cross-sectional view of the ingot 14 taken along the line CC shown in FIG. 2B. The ingot 14 obtained in Example 1 had a C surface with a flat front surface 14a, and six {10-11} surfaces were located on the outer peripheral side surface 14b of the surface 14a. That is, by making GaN homoepitaxially grow on the surface 12 a of the hexagonal GaN substrate 12, an ingot 14 having a plurality of index faces whose normal lines are directed in directions different from the crystal growth direction of the homoepitaxial growth is formed on the hexagonal GaN substrate 12. Was formed spontaneously. And it was shown that there is no crack in the ingot 14, and the high quality ingot 14 can be manufactured in a short time. By slicing the ingot 14, a GaN substrate as a high-quality group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate can be obtained.

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of the flow of manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor substrate according to Example 2 of the present invention.

  In the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate according to Example 2, a thin plate having a predetermined shape is stacked on a group III nitride semiconductor substrate as a seed substrate, and in this state, along the C-axis direction of the seed substrate. A group III nitride semiconductor was homoepitaxially grown to produce an ingot, and the produced ingot was sliced.

  Specifically, first, a circular GaN substrate 10 having a surface 10a as a crystal growth surface and a back surface 10b opposite to the surface 10a as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B was prepared. The circular GaN substrate 10 has a diameter of 60 mm and a thickness of 0.5 mm, and the surface 10a is a C plane. Next, a thin plate 50 having a circular substrate shape with a diameter of 60 mm and having a regular hexagonal opening with a diameter of 55 mm was prepared. The thin plate 50 is a plate made of carbon and has a thickness of 0.5 mm. Then, as shown in FIG. 3A, the thin plate 50 was stacked on the circular GaN substrate 10. In such a case, the thin plate 50 was stacked on the circular GaN substrate 10 so that the hexagonal side 50a and the GaN M-plane of the circular GaN substrate 10 were parallel to each other.

Subsequently, the circular GaN substrate 10 on which the thin plates 50 were stacked was placed in an HVPE furnace, and GaN was homoepitaxially grown on the circular GaN substrate 10 through the opening of the thin plate 50. GaCl and NH ₃ were used as raw materials for homoepitaxial growth, and N ₂ gas was used as a carrier gas. Further, the homoepitaxial growth was performed under a substantially normal pressure, the partial pressure of GaCl was set to 5 kPa, and the partial pressure of NH ₃ was set to 30 kPa. In addition, H ₂ with a partial pressure of 20 kPa was also added. The growth temperature for homoepitaxial growth was set to 1050 ° C.

  The growth rate of homoepitaxial growth under the above conditions was 1200 μm / h. Under the above conditions, homoepitaxial growth of GaN on the circular GaN substrate 10 was performed for 18 hours. As a result, a GaN ingot 20 as shown in FIG. 3B was obtained. The ingot 20 had a thickness of 21 mm and a diameter of about 55 mm.

  FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view of the ingot 20 taken along the line DD shown in FIG. FIGS. 3B and 3C show the state after the thin plate 50 is removed. The ingot 20 obtained in Example 2 had a flat C surface at the tip surface 20a, and six {10-12} surfaces were located on the outer peripheral side surface 20b of the surface 20a. Further, six {10-11} planes are located on the outer peripheral side surface 20c of the side surface 20b, and there are six straight body portions 20d made of an M plane from the plurality of side surfaces 20c toward the circular GaN substrate 10. It was. And it was shown that there is no crack in the ingot 20, and the high-quality ingot 20 can be manufactured in a short time. By slicing the ingot 20, a GaN substrate as a high-quality group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate can be obtained.

  4A and 4B show an outline of the flow of manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor substrate according to Example 3 of the present invention.

  The group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate according to Example 3 uses, as a seed substrate, a GaN substrate obtained by slicing a GaN ingot 20 manufactured by the same manufacturing method as in Example 2 along the M plane. A thin plate having an opening of a predetermined shape was stacked on the seed substrate, and in this state, the group III nitride semiconductor was manufactured by slicing an ingot obtained by homoepitaxial growth along the M-axis direction of the seed substrate.

  Specifically, first, an ingot 20 manufactured in Example 2 as shown in FIG. 4A (a) was prepared. Then, the ingot 20 was sliced along the M plane (that is, the ingot 20 was sliced along the normal direction of the surface 20a in FIG. 4A (a)). Next, as shown in FIG. 4A (b), the GaN substrate 22 having the M surface as the surface 22a was manufactured by polishing the front surface and the back surface of the substrate obtained by slicing. The front surface 22a is a crystal growth surface, and the surface facing the crystal growth surface is a back surface 22b.

  Next, a thin metal plate 60 having a window having a shape obtained by obliquely cutting off four corners of a rectangle was prepared. The thin plate 60 was manufactured from iridium and had a thickness of 0.5 mm. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A (c), the thin plate 60 was stacked on the surface 22 a of the GaN substrate 22. Here, the short side 60a of the window of the thin plate 60 is parallel to the A surface of the GaN substrate 22, the long side 60b is parallel to the C surface of the GaN substrate 22, and the oblique side cut off obliquely is {11 of the GaN substrate 22. The thin plate 60 was stacked on the circular GaN substrate 10 so as to be parallel to the −22} plane.

Subsequently, the GaN substrate 22 on which the thin plates 60 were stacked was placed in an HVPE furnace, and GaN was homoepitaxially grown on the GaN substrate 22 through the openings of the thin plate 60. GaCl and NH ₃ were used as raw materials for homoepitaxial growth, and N ₂ gas was used as a carrier gas. Further, the homoepitaxial growth was performed under a substantially normal pressure, the partial pressure of GaCl was set to 3.3 kPa, and the partial pressure of NH ₃ was set to 20 kPa. In addition, H ₂ with a partial pressure of 20 kPa was also added. The growth temperature for homoepitaxial growth was set to 1050 ° C.

  The growth rate of homoepitaxial growth under the above conditions was 800 μm / h. Under the above conditions, GaN homoepitaxial growth on the GaN substrate 22 was performed for 12.5 hours. As a result, a GaN ingot 30 as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4B was obtained. The thickness of the ingot 30 was 10 mm.

  FIG. 4B (b) is a side view of the ingot 30 shown in FIG. 4B (a). The shape of the ingot 30 obtained in Example 3 is that a hexagonal cylinder surrounded by the M plane and the C plane is divided into a vertical half along a plane parallel to the M plane along its central axis (C axis). The trapezoidal shape is obtained when laying down, and the {10-11} plane is developed at the boundary between the C plane and the M plane. That is, in FIG. 4B (b), the front surface 30a is a flat M surface, and the side surface 30b is also an M surface. As shown in FIG. 4B (b), the front and back vertical surfaces of the ingot 30 are C-planes. Here, it was shown that no cracks exist in the ingot 30 and that a high-quality ingot 30 can be manufactured in a short time. By slicing the ingot 30, a high-quality GaN substrate as a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate can be obtained.

  5A and 5B show an outline of the flow of manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor substrate according to Example 4 of the present invention.

  A Group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate according to Example 4 is obtained by cleaving a GaN substrate obtained by slicing a GaN ingot 20 manufactured by the same manufacturing method as in Example 2 along the A plane. The substrate was used as a seed substrate, and was manufactured by slicing an ingot obtained by homoepitaxial growth of a group III nitride semiconductor on the seed substrate along the C-axis direction of the seed substrate.

  Specifically, first, an ingot 20 manufactured in Example 2 as shown in FIG. 5A (a) was prepared. Then, the ingot 20 was sliced along the A plane. Next, as shown in FIG. 5A (b), the front and back surfaces of the substrate obtained by slicing were polished to manufacture the GaN substrate 22 having the A surface as the front surface 22a. The front surface 22a is a crystal growth surface, and the surface facing the crystal growth surface is a back surface 22b.

  Next, by cleaving the outer peripheral portion of the GaN substrate 22 with the C plane and the M plane, as shown in (c) and (d) of FIG. 5A, the 25 mm × 20 mm surrounded by the C plane and the M plane. A rectangular GaN substrate 24 was obtained. 5D is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE shown in FIG. 5A (c). The surface 24a of the GaN substrate 24 is the A plane. The side 24b of the GaN substrate 24 was parallel to the C-plane or M-plane, and the four corner sides 24c were parallel to the {10-11} plane. The surface facing the front surface 24a was the back surface 24b, and the front surface 24a was the crystal growth surface.

Subsequently, the obtained GaN substrate 24 was placed in an HVPE furnace, and GaN was homoepitaxially grown on the GaN substrate 24. GaCl and NH ₃ were used as raw materials for homoepitaxial growth, and N ₂ gas was used as a carrier gas. The homoepitaxial growth was carried out at a substantially normal pressure, the GaCl partial pressure was set to 2.5 kPa, and the NH ₃ partial pressure was set to 15 kPa. In addition, H ₂ with a partial pressure of 20 kPa was also added. The growth temperature for homoepitaxial growth was set to 1050 ° C.

  The growth rate of homoepitaxial growth under the above conditions was 600 μm / h. Under the above conditions, GaN homoepitaxial growth on the GaN substrate 24 was performed for 20 hours. As a result, a GaN ingot 40 as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5B was obtained. The thickness of the ingot 40 was 12 mm.

  FIG. 5B (b) is a side view of the ingot 40 shown in FIG. 5B (a). The shape of the ingot 40 obtained in Example 4 is that a hexagonal column surrounded by the M plane and the C plane is divided into half vertically by a plane parallel to the A plane along its central axis (C axis). A triangular roof shape that can be obtained when laying down the plate, and a {10-11} plane was developed at the boundary between the C plane and the M plane. That is, in FIG. 5B (b), the surface 40a is the M plane, and the side surface 40b is also the M plane. As shown in FIG. 5B (b), the front and back vertical surfaces of the ingot 40 are C-planes. Here, it was shown that no cracks exist in the ingot 40, and the high-quality ingot 40 can be manufactured in a short time. By slicing this ingot 40, a high-quality GaN substrate as a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate can be obtained.

(Comparative example)
FIG. 6 shows an outline of the flow of manufacturing a group III nitride semiconductor substrate according to a comparative example.

  A group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate according to a comparative example is obtained by using a circular GaN substrate as a seed substrate and homoepitaxially growing a group III nitride semiconductor on the seed substrate along the C-axis direction of the seed substrate. The ingot was sliced.

  First, a circular GaN substrate 10 as a seed substrate as shown in FIG. The diameter of the circular GaN substrate 10 is 60 mm, and the thickness is 0.5 mm. The surface of the circular GaN substrate 10 is the C plane.

  Next, the circular GaN substrate 10 was placed in an HVPE furnace as it was, and GaN was homoepitaxially grown on the circular GaN substrate 10. The conditions for homoepitaxial growth were the same as the growth conditions in Example 1. As a result, a GaN ingot 70 as shown in FIG. 6B was obtained. The ingot 70 had a thickness of about 9.4 mm and a diameter of about 60 mm.

  FIG. 6C is a side view of FIG. Referring to FIG. 6B, the tip of the ingot 70, that is, the surface 70a of the ingot 70 is a flat C surface, and the periphery thereof has a substantially conical shape. However, in the comparative example, among the conical portions, the six regions 70b have a shape scraped off by the {10-11} plane, and gradually become closer to the surface 70a side from the circular GaN substrate 10. He was approaching a hexagonal shape. Then, it was observed that innumerable fine cracks were generated in the ingot 70 starting from the edge of the region 70b. Furthermore, it was considered that fine cracks were generated during homoepitaxial growth, and it was observed that the unevenness of the surface 70a was very severe due to the continued crystal growth on the fine cracks after the occurrence of the fine cracks.

  While the embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments and examples described above do not limit the invention according to the claims. It should be noted that not all combinations of features described in the embodiments and examples are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention.

10 circular GaN substrate 10a surface 10b back surface 12 hexagonal GaN substrate 12a surface 12b back surface 12c side surface 14 ingot 14a surface 14b side surface 20 ingot 20a surface 20b side surface 20c side surface 20d straight body portion 22 GaN substrate 22a surface 22b back surface 24 b surface 24b 24c side 24d
30 ingot 30a surface 30b side surface 40 ingot 40a surface 40b side surface 50 thin plate 50a side 60 thin plate 60a short side 60b long side 60c oblique side 70 ingot 70a surface 70b region

Claims (10)

A seed substrate preparation step of preparing a seed substrate made of a group III nitride semiconductor and having a single index plane crystal growth surface;
A crystal growth step of epitaxially growing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal on the crystal growth surface,
The crystal growth step is a step of growing the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal while being surrounded by a plurality of spontaneously formed low index planes, and the low index plane is an individual crystal plane. A method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal having a plane index of 3 or less. The group III nitride semiconductor is a hexagonal nitride semiconductor,
In the low index plane, when the index plane is represented by {hklm} (where h, k, l and m are all integers), the absolute values of h, k, l and m are all 3 or less. The method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to claim 1.   3. The method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of crystal surfaces do not include a high index plane in which any one of individual plane indices representing the crystal surface is 4 or more.   4. The method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to claim 3, wherein in the crystal growth step, the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal having a maximum outer diameter of 15 mm or more is epitaxially grown.   5. The method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to claim 4, wherein in the crystal growth step, the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal is epitaxially grown by 5 mm or more along the crystal growth direction.   6. The method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to claim 5, wherein in the crystal growth step, the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal is epitaxially grown at a crystal growth rate of 300 [mu] m / h or more.   The said seed substrate preparation process is a manufacturing method of the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal of Claim 6 which forms the said seed substrate which has a side parallel to the said low index surface by cleavage of the outer periphery of the said seed substrate.   The method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to claim 6, wherein the seed substrate preparation step limits the crystal growth surface to a part of the surface of the seed substrate by providing a mask on the seed substrate. .   A group III nitride semiconductor single crystal produced by the method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is cut along a plane perpendicular to the crystal growth direction. A method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate for obtaining a semiconductor single crystal substrate.   The method for producing a group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate according to claim 9, wherein the group III nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate has a quadrangular or hexagonal shape.

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